Posted on June 22, 2010 - by Nurse Virginia

BEST SHOES FOR ELDERLY – KEDS

10 REASONS WHY I LIKE KEDS FOR THE ELDERLY

• Elderly don’t tend to pick up their feet when they walk – they may “shuffle.”
• Thick soled athletic shoes have a “super grip.”
• Thick soled athletic shoes because of the super grip can “catch” on carpet and tile when an elder doesn’t pick up their feet and many times cause a fall.
• Thick soled athletic shoes tend to be heavy shoes, the elderly need to wear a lighter shoe.
• The elderly often lose sensation in the bottom of their feet – maybe due to diabetes or decreased circulation.
• The elderly need to be able to “feel” the floor through their shoes – to help tell them where they are.
• The elderly can better feel the difference between a carpeted surface and a tiled surface through a shoe with a thinner sole
• Keds shoes have a thin and flexible rubber sole so the elderly can feel the floor better through the bottom of the shoe.
• Keds  – “Champion” is the same shoe as their first design in 1916. Improvements in that original shoe increased the ability of the shoe to absorb shock and protect the foot from jars and jolts. (All with the same thin sole)
• Elderly with Alzheimer’s disease need as much information as they can get as to what is going on around them. They even need the information they get from the bottom of their feet, through their shoes.

See also blog: March 18, 2010 – GOOD OLD “KEDS” – BEST SHOES FOR CONFUSED ELDERLY

Virginia Garberding, R.N.

Director of Education, The Wealshire, Lincolnshire, Illinois

Author: Please Get To Know Me – Aging with Dignity and Relevance

www.pleasegettoknowme.com